Football History

The Big Ten Conference Football Championship game is a must-see on many fans of college football's annual watch lists. The schools' traditions and football programs are almost as old as the game itself. These title games had to start somewhere, and in this edition, we peek back into a post our guest Tim Brown wrote a while back on the inaugural Big 10 Championship game titled The Big Ten's First Conference Championship Game (in 1931) .

-1931 Big Ten season, I can share some interesting facts:

-There were no true "champions" that year, as three teams, Minnesota, Michigan, and Northwestern, shared the title after ending with identical conference records (5-1).

-Purdue boasted the best overall record (9-1), but their lone conference loss, to Wisconsin, prevented them from claiming a share of the crown.

-The season also saw the first-ever Big Ten Conference Championship game, a three-way match between Ohio State, Michigan, and Purdue. Ohio State prevailed in that one with a 19-17 score.

-Some notable individual players included Clarence Munn (Minnesota), who was awarded the conference's MVP title, and Paul Moss (Purdue) and Ookie Miller (Purdue), who were recognized as All-Americans.

-Transcribed Conversation with Timothy Brown on the Big 10's 1st Championship Game

Hello, my football friends; it's Darin Hayes of PigskinDispatch.com. Welcome again to The Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history. And welcome to another Tuesday with FootballArcheology.com's Timothy P. Brown. Tim, welcome back to The Pig Pen.

Thank you, sir. Looking forward to talking about old-time football and sometimes what's old is new again.
And I think this is one of those instances.

I think you're absolutely correct because, of course, our topic tonight is a tidbit you put out in December of 2022 called The Big Tens First Conference Championship Game. And we're just coming out of these championship games and getting ready for the bowl season as this is airing. And so, what an appropriate time of the year to talk about the Big Ten Championship.

-Story of the First Big 10 Conference Championship Game

So what do you get on this? Yes, this is one. So this occurred in 1931. And, you know, I've written a couple of things about 1931.

Recently, I wrote a story not too far back about Wisconsin and Minnesota, and they were playing a game, you know, at the end of the season game in 1931. And I mentioned that that was a season where a couple of Big Ten teams, including Wisconsin and Minnesota, started the season playing doubleheaders. And I've got another tidbit written on that so people can find it.

But, you know, back in the mid-20s to mid-30s, there was this whole slew of people, you know, teams playing doubleheader football games. And, you know, what they do is they kind of had one game set up against a lesser opponent that their second team would play. And then they play the varsity against, you know, also a lesser team.

So it's like basically two bye games for the price of one is what it came down to. So it's just, I mean, that really doesn't have anything to do with the story other than to just set the stage that scheduling and, you know, the game was just different back then. You know, they did some things that we would never think about doing today.

No one would schedule a doubleheader. But that 1931, you know, still, you know, depths of the depression. So there were a fair number of college teams, and pro teams did this as well.

They play exhibition games to try to, you know, raise money and they donate all the proceeds to charity. And so the Big Ten that year decided, and I think they decided real close to the end of the season, they just, they decided that they were going to extend the season by one game and play, every team would play another game. And so they took against 10 opponents.

And so, you know, those were the days where teams didn't, you know, they didn't play round-robin schedules or anything approaching that. Everybody scheduled themselves independently. And so the regular season ended with Purdue at 4-1 and losing to Wisconsin.

At least in conference, Michigan was 4-1, having lost to Ohio State. Then, they tied Michigan State in the non-conference because Michigan State wasn't in the conference. And there we had, and finally, we had the Northwestern Wildcats at 5-0.

They had tied Notre Dame, not a Big Ten team. So the regular season ended with Northwestern as the undisputed champs, you know because they just based it on win percentage at the time. But when they decided to play, you know, they collectively, yeah, we're going to play another game.
And at the, they also decided what we're going to do is these games are going to count. We want them to be meaningful. So they're going to count as a regular season game, at least, you know, in terms of determining the conference championship.

So they scheduled, you know, with ten teams, they set up Ohio State at Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Northwestern and Purdue at Soldier Field. And then the other four teams played that Saturday at Chicago's Ag Field, but they only played a half a game. So, you know, it's one of those kind of goofy things, you know, today, you know, preparing, you know, for this, I went back and looked at the official conference results, like, you know, just to see like the all-time results, Michigan just won their 1000th game, right? First college team to do that.

And so I was just looking at things like, wait, did the game after the season count or not? These doubleheader games always counted, but in those half-games, none of the teams that played the half-games counted towards their all-time record. But the 14 or the six teams that played the full games that last, you know, that extra week. So Michigan technically might have like 1000, one and a half wins to their credit or something.

Well, no, because they played one of the full games. Oh, okay. They played a full game.
Okay. All right. Yeah.

So some other teams could have half a game, but others would have lost half a game. And then there were ties. One of those games was a tie.
So it was a tied half-game. It was a tie-half game. Oh boy.

Good thing it's not like hockey. How would you score that in hockey? Because you wouldn't get half a point for that winner in the tie. So anyways, you know, they play these games, and it turns out that Purdue beat Northwestern seven to nothing.

So Purdue enters the game undefeated. They lose. So then they end up in a three-way tie.
Northwestern, Purdue, and Michigan all are five and one at the end of the season. And so it's still kind of one of those things where, you know, you never know how a season is going to end up until all the pads are put away one last time. Right.

You know, you never know if a team's going to come back if they're going to win a bowl game unexpectedly, you know, upset, you know, somebody who should have beaten them. You never know. So, Northwestern thought they were Big 10 champs, and it turned out that they weren't.

Well, you started off by saying the more things change, the more they stay the same. And I think that, going into next year, the Big 10 will become the Wild West again, of, you know, teams from coast to coast in a conference. I think we should start a petition right now that we want the end-of-year exhibition half-games brought back to the Big 10.

So it's just like it was, you know, 90 years ago. Yeah. The half games.
I mean, I'm not sure exactly why they decided to go that route. I'll actually have to go back and reread some of that stuff. But you know, to play a half-game, you know, for most of them at a neutral site, makes it even more amusing.

I wonder if tickets were half-priced to get into those half-games. Well, you know, they, so they, they still fans saw a full game because they saw two half-games. But maybe what they did was they played them early enough.

Like you, Chicago's Stagg Field is a, if you really wanted to, you could walk to Soldier Field from there. So maybe they played those games early in the morning on Saturday so that everybody could run over to catch the, to court, to catch Northwestern and Purdue at Soldier Field. Wow.

That is, that is quite the story. There's a lot going on in that one. That's for sure.
Yeah. I've got even more here on this sheet of paper that I'm looking at, but I didn't raise those issues.

It's great stuff, Tim.

And you have these fascinating stories from, from yesteryear in football that you're really enjoyable and fun to read. And, you know, some like this, so you can sit back and laugh at it and say, you know, what were they thinking type of things? But it's kind of interesting. I'd be, if, if somebody advertised that right now that, Hey, we're going to have a couple of half games that done at the local stadium, I'd, I'd buy a ticket and go see four football teams.

So, so that'd be good stuff. But you do this every day on your tidbits and it's just so fascinating and sometimes makes you think and scratch your head all at the same time. Maybe you could share with the rest of the world here how they, too, can get involved with the tidbits and read these on a daily basis.
Yeah. So, you know, the simplest thing is just go to footballarchaeology.com, hit subscribe, it's free. And if you do that from then on, you'll get a, get an email every night at seven o'clock Eastern with that day's story.

And, you know, otherwise, you can follow me on Twitter, Substack, or Threads, or, like I've said before, just bookmark it and come and visit whenever you're of a mind. All right. Well, his name is Timothy Brown, and his website is footballarchaeology.com. Tim, we thank you once again for sharing with us this Tuesday, and we look forward to next Tuesday to talk to you once again about football's antiquity.

Very good. Thank you, sir.
Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.

---

The 1988 Oklahoma State Cowboys versus Oklahoma Sooners game, played on November 5th in Stillwater, is etched in the hearts of both fanbases as an epic upset and a turning point in the rivalry. Here's a quick summary:

Setting the Stage:

Both teams entered ranked: #8 Oklahoma and #12 Oklahoma State.
OSU, led by Barry Sanders, the Heisman Trophy frontrunner, hadn't beaten OU since 1976.
The matchup was highly anticipated, dubbed "Bedlam" due to the intense rivalry.
The Game:

A defensive slugfest early on, both teams struggled to move the ball.
OSU struck first with a 7-0 lead in the second quarter.
OU countered with 21 unanswered points before halftime, seemingly taking control.
But the second half belonged to the Cowboys.
Barry Sanders exploded, running for two touchdowns and showcasing his Heisman-caliber talent.
OSU's defense held firm, shutting down OU's offense in the clutch.
The Cowboys mounted a 28-7 second-half comeback, culminating in a thrilling 31-28 victory.

---

February 19, 1917, Illinois Head Coach Bob Zuppke released his new concept of football helmet innovation. These new-fangled head protectors were called Zuppke Helmets, or ZH for short.

The Helmets are manufactured using interior padding of suspended leather straps and ear hole cutouts.

The ZH's revolutionary design cradled the skull within the helmet, replacing the former foam shell. Fabric straps crisscrossed the interior, absorbing and distributing impact more effectively while allowing for improved ventilation. The suspension innovation acted as a shock absorber to lessen the blow of effects. Companies like Rawlings and Spalding manufactured this breakthrough invention. It was famously worn by Zuppke's star player Red Grange and others.

Though suspension straps are no longer used in modern football helmets, Zuppke's design has stood as a standard application for almost six decades.

The concept is still an integral part of some construction hard hats and other safety headgear, leading it to stand the test of time.

Born May 5, 1941, in Pine River, Minnesota, was Oregon State’s quarterback from 1960 to 1962, Terry Baker. The National Football Foundation says Terry is the only athlete to win the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Scholar-Athlete Award from the National Football Foundation and Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year Award in the same year.

Yes 1962 was a special one for Baker as he won the Liberty Bowl's Most Valuable Player Award as his 99 yard run was the only score in a 6-0 win over Villanova. Terry Baker’s collegiate football records are celebrated in the College Football Hall of Fame after his induction in 1982. When school was done the Los Angeles Rams made the brilliant young QB the first player selected in the collegiate draft. He played three seasons for the Rams and one season in the CFL.

Being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame is a mark of unparalleled prestige and accomplishment. It signifies that a player has not only excelled on the field but has also left a lasting legacy that transcends generations. This honor is reserved for those who have demonstrated exceptional skill, leadership, and impact in collegiate football, shaping the sport’s history and inspiring future players. Remembering these inductees is not just a tribute to their remarkable careers but also a celebration of their enduring influence on the game. Their stories and achievements serve as a beacon of excellence and a testament to the profound role they’ve played in elevating college football to new heights.

The University of Michigan did leave the Big Ten Conference once, back in 1906.
The reason for leaving was due to a conflict between the conference's faculty members and the university's students and administration over the role of football.
The faculty members wanted to sideline football and its coaches and players, while the students and administration wanted to protect their football team and coach Fielding Yost.
Michigan's decision to leave the Big Ten may have helped to preserve college football as the great spectacle it is today.

The roar of Sanford Stadium today thunders with the echoes of national championships and Heisman winners. But before the crystal trophies and ESPN rankings, there was a simpler time, a time when the Georgia Bulldogs were just cutting their teeth on the gridiron. From 1892 to 1917, these early Dawgs laid the foundation for the powerhouse program we know today, a story paved with mud, grit, and the birth of a Southern tradition.

Born in 1892 with a 50-0 drubbing of Mercer, the Bulldogs' infancy was characterized by a spirit of exploration. Coaches like Doc Herty and Jumbo Slattón experimented with formations and strategies, laying the groundwork for Georgia's future offensive identity. Games were brutal affairs, played on makeshift fields with rudimentary equipment and often under dubious officiating. Still, the players embraced the rough-and-tumble nature of the game, forging a tough and resilient attitude that would become a Bulldog trademark.

Rivalries, the lifeblood of college football, began to take shape during this era. The first meeting with Auburn in 1892 ignited a fire that has burned brightly for over a century. Games against Clemson and Tech, though nascent at the time, hinted at the epic clashes that would define future generations of Dawgs. These early contests, far from the televised spectacles of today, were community events, uniting students, alumni, and townsfolk in a shared love for the red and black.

Join us for more fun in examining the origins of team and school mascots here on Pigskin Dispatch, your portal to positive football history. We tray and cover every angle of football history and the aspects of this college team are right smack dab in the middle of a great story of the gridiron.

A college football team's first game is a birth certificate and a blank canvas. It's the launch of a program's legacy, a chance to unveil its potential on the field. It serves as a rallying point for future generations of fans and a milestone for the university's athletic identity.

---

Chicago, a city with a heart that beats for both gridiron giants, the Chicago Bears and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini. Beyond shared geography, their stories intertwine, creating a tapestry of triumphs, rivalries, and shared legacies.

From the early days of professional football, Illini stars like Red Grange and Harold "Red" Grange illuminated the nascent Bear's lineup, their talent lighting the way for future Illini-turned-Bears like George Halas and Dick Butkus. These players weren't just imports; they were builders, laying the foundation for both programs' futures. Grange, the "Galloping Ghost," electrified Chicago with his dazzling runs, setting attendance records and etching his name in Bears lore. Halas, a multi-talented Illini standout, later became the Bears' iconic owner and coach, shaping the team into a championship force.

The connection deepened through friendly rivalries. In the 1940s, the "College All-Star Game" pitted the NFL's best against college football's elite, and often featured Illini heroes facing off against their future professional homes, the Bears. These clashes showcased the burgeoning talent of players like Sid Luckman and Emlen Tunnell, further blurring the lines between the two programs.

Beyond individual stars, the shared spirit of grit and resilience connects the Bears and Illini. Both face the burden of high expectations, a hunger for glory forged in the unforgiving Midwest. The Illini faithful cheer through tough seasons, knowing that a Red Grange or a Dick Butkus might emerge from the shadows. Bears fans, through decades of near misses and championship droughts, never lose their unwavering belief in the "Monsters of the Midway."

This shared spirit isn't confined to the past. Today, players like Kyle Orton and Josh McCown carry the Illini torch on the professional stage, while countless Illini recruits dream of wearing the iconic blue and orange. The Bears' Soldier Field even welcomes the Illini for the annual "Fight for the Illini" game, a showcase of Illini talent on the NFL's grand stage.

So, the next time you watch a Bears game or cheer for the Illini, remember this intertwined legacy.

---

The Alabama Crimson Tide are a dominant force in college football, extending to their record against every other school in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Here's a breakdown of Alabama's record against each current SEC member:

-West Division:

Arkansas: 32-25-7 (Alabama leads)

Auburn: 49-38-1 (Alabama leads)

LSU: 54-25-5 (Alabama leads)

Mississippi State: 87-73-13 (Alabama leads)

Ole Miss: 52-43-8 (Alabama leads)

Texas A&M: 12-10-2 (Alabama leads)

-East Division:

Florida: 34-23-11 (Alabama leads)

Georgia: 48-32-15 (Alabama leads)

Kentucky: 30-28-1 (Alabama leads)

Missouri: 4-4-0 (Tied)

South Carolina: 9-6-3 (Alabama leads)

Tennessee: 90-51-32 (Alabama leads)

Vanderbilt: 72-58-10 (Alabama leads)

-Total: 478-172-21 (72.8% winning percentage)

As you can see, Alabama has a winning record against every current member of the SEC, with their most dominant record coming against Mississippi State (87-73-13) and their closest record coming against Missouri (4-4-0).

-Key Takeaways:

Alabama has dominated the SEC for decades, boasting a winning record against every current member.

The Crimson Tide's most dominant rivalry is against Mississippi State, while their closest rivalry is against Missouri.

Alabama's overall record against SEC opponents is an impressive 478-172-21, a testament to their consistent excellence.

As the storied traditions and rich history of Alabama Crimson Tide football remind us, this program is not just about wins and championships; it embodies a legacy of excellence and resilience. From legendary coaches to iconic players, each season adds a new chapter to a saga of passion and dedication. Whether celebrating in Bryant-Denny Stadium or cheering from afar, the Crimson Tide faithful uphold these traditions with pride. As we look ahead to future seasons, let us continue to honor and preserve the spirit that defines Alabama football—a spirit forged by tradition and destined for greatness.

The Texas Longhorns and Alabama Crimson Tide have forged one of college football's most storied and captivating rivalries. Their annual showdown dubbed the "Texas-Alabama Game of the Century" or simply "The Game," transcends mere competition, becoming a cultural event that pits two proud programs against each other for bragging rights and national supremacy.

-Origins and History:

The rivalry dates back to 1902, with the first meeting resulting in a narrow 10-0 Alabama victory.
The two teams played consistently until 1922, but the rivalry truly ignited in 1929 with the signing of the "Dixie Classic" agreement, guaranteeing an annual matchup in Birmingham, Alabama.
This agreement solidified the rivalry as a major event in the South, attracting national attention and drawing passionate fan bases from both sides.

-Memorable Moments:

The rivalry boasts countless thrilling moments, including The 1967 "Game of the Century," where the top-ranked Crimson Tide edged out the No. 2 Longhorns 10-7 in a defensive battle.

The 2010 thriller, where the Longhorns upset the top-ranked Crimson Tide 20-19 on a last-second field goal by kicker Hunter Lawrence.
The 2018 showdown, where Alabama secured a dominant 51-14 victory, showcasing their offensive prowess.

2024 will see the Longhorns moving into the SEC where the rivalry with the Tide should reach new levels as Conference rivals.

As the storied traditions and rich history of Alabama Crimson Tide football remind us, this program is not just about wins and championships; it embodies a legacy of excellence and resilience. From legendary coaches to iconic players, each season adds a new chapter to a saga of passion and dedication. Whether celebrating in Bryant-Denny Stadium or cheering from afar, the Crimson Tide faithfully upholds these traditions with pride. As we look ahead to future seasons, let us continue to honor and preserve the spirit that defines Alabama football—a spirit forged by tradition and destined for greatness.

A tale woven into the very fabric of Spartan football: the Michigan State Spartans playing in the Rose Bowl. It's a story of triumphs and heartbreaks, of green and white confetti dancing in the California breeze, and of a tradition forged in Spartan spirit and tested on the gridiron of history.

The Spartans' inaugural Rose Bowl journey began in 1954, a baptism by fire against a UCLA squad boasting the legendary Johnny Unitas. Though victory eluded them that day, the stage was set for a legacy destined to unfold. Just three years later, the magic struck. Led by the unflappable John Hannah, the Spartans conquered the Rose Bowl, earning their first victory and etching their name onto the game's illustrious trophy.

But the Rose Bowl wasn't always kind to the Spartans. The 1970s saw three consecutive heartbreaking losses, each leaving behind a bittersweet tinge of "what if." Yet, in true Spartan fashion, they never faltered. In 1988, led by the dynamic duo of Bobby Williams and Mark Ingram, the Spartans finally exorcised the ghosts of "almost" and reveled in a Rose Bowl victory under the confetti shower.

Mark Dantonio's arrival in 2005 ushered in a new era of Spartan resilience. He led the Spartans to three Rose Bowl appearances in seven years, including a thrilling 24-20 victory over Ohio State in 2014, a game forever etched in Spartan lore. Victories came against powerhouses like Stanford and USC, cementing the Spartans' place among the Rose Bowl's elite.

Today, the Michigan State Spartans and the Rose Bowl remain forever intertwined. It's a testament to their unwavering spirit, their relentless pursuit of excellence, and their ability to rise to the occasion on the grandest stage. It's a tradition that transcends generations, a whisper of Spartan pride carried on the California breeze, reminding us that the Rose Bowl will always hold a special place in the hearts of every Spartan.